Guilty: Love is Like Jazz Series, Part 3
by Stubby the Newsgirl
Summary: Her only love sprung from her only hate! Jules Caplan falls head over heels for a handsome stranger, only to learn that he is none other than Morris Delancey. With the help of Kloppman, she pursues this love, but will it lead Jules to her death?
1. 1: Pennies From Heaven?

Author's Explanation:

Love is like Jazz. You make it up as you go along and you act as if you really know the song. But you don't, and you never will. So you flaunt your mistakes, and you make them until they were you. Love is like jazz. The same song a million times in different ways. "Strange Fruit" with and without wind chimes. It's divine. It's asinine. It's depressing, and it's almost entirely window dressing. But it'll do.

-Love is Like Jazz; The Magnetic Fields

I am a lover of Jazz music. I also love writing with a song in mind. And so, I decided to dedicate a series of fics with Jazz songs as the motivation and backdrop. This is the "Love Is Like Jazz" Series. Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!

* * *

**Guilty**  
Is it a sin  
Is it a crime  
Loving you dear like I do  
If it's a crime then I'm guilty  
Guilty of loving you

Maybe I'm wrong dreaming of you  
Dreaming the lonely night through  
If it's a crime then I'm guilty  
Guilty of dreaming of you

What can I do  
What can I say  
After I've taken the blame  
You say you're through  
You'll go your way  
But I'll always feel just the same

Maybe I'm right  
Maybe I'm wrong  
Loving you dear like I do  
If it's a crime then I'm guilty  
Guilty of loving you

_Author's Notes: This is the third story in the "Love Is Like Jazz" series. This story was inspired by the song "Guilty." My favorite version is performed by Al Bowlly. Jules, Chatterbox, Blondie, Sadie and Poke are all characters that I have created. I'm taking a little break from the Skittery story line, but don't worry, there will be more coming up!_

* * *

**Guilty**  
By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter One: Pennies from Heaven?

Julie "Jules" Caplan was a newsgirl who appreciated the improvement of her circulation. Walking helped her clear her thoughts. Some days, walking along the dirty streets of New York City, she would trouble over her past, in lieu of selling the papers. At least she didn't have to eat what she didn't sell, of course, sometimes it meant sacrificing her board at the Newsies' Lodging House.  
There were lots of things that troubled her. Her mother and father had died of hay fever when she was only three years of age, and she was left in the care of her only living relative- her grandmother. Her grandmother died of old age when Jules had turned fifteen. She had no inheritance, and rather than being sent to an orphanage, the young woman found a use for herself, and she began working as a newsgirl a few months after the newsies' strike.

Despite the deaths she had experienced, Jules was an optimist, and moreover, she was a hopeless romantic. It had been two years since her grandmother had passed away, and she was now 17, but she still remembered the love stories her grandmother would tell her - Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde... of course they had tragic endings, but their love was full of passion! Lately, the stories occupied her thoughts. Jules wanted to fall in love, very badly. The only problem was that she had no one to fall in love with.

When it was announced that the lodging home for newsgirls would be demolished and turned into a sewing mill, and that the newsgirls would be sent to the boys' lodging home, she and her close friends, Chatterbox and Blondie, were the few girls who were excited about the move. Most of the other newsgirls quit selling papers and to work at the mill, and avoid the impeachment of their modesty, living with men. Perhaps Jules and her friends were more brazen, but they found that being out and about selling papers was much more fulfilling than being stuck inside a sewing mill all day.

Jules didn't think she was brazen at all. She didn't plan on whoring herself out to just any handsome boy who came her way. She thrived on the idea of finding true love. And being surrounded by boys, she thought it would be easy to find "the one." There were so many handsome young men around, but the more she was surrounded by these young men, the less she was attracted to them.

She first set her eyes on Jack Kelly, but then he was in an intimate relationship with Sarah Jacobs. She her sights were on David Jacobs, but he seemed more interested in books and conversations about Bryan Denton than anything else. Bumlets was nice, but he was always concerned about his hair. Racetrack made her laugh, but he gambled too much. Skittery was too moody. Swifty was already in a relationship, but she thought he was too thin anyway. Specs had bad breath. Snoddy was the handsomest boy she had ever seen, but he often picked his nose in public. Spot Conlon was beautiful, but who wants to go all the way to Brooklyn to see him? Crutchy was too optimistic. Itey chewed on his suspenders when he thought no one was looking. Snitch was a snitch. Kid Blink was a flirt- also, he was in a new relationship, and claimed to be in love. Mush was strong, but intellectually inept. Dutchy always needed affirmation when it came to spelling and reading- it was too much of a chore. The others were too young or too immature for her.

"Hey, Jules! You dropped a penny!" a voice called out to her as she was walking. She turned around to see a familiar face about a twenty feet away from her. It was Pie Eater. Pie Eater was a nice guy.

"Aw, thanks Pie Eater. You just saved me from having to sell another pape tomorrow," Jules said waiting for him to catch up to her.

She twirled her finger around the end of her brown, braided pony tail as she waited. Then, Pie Eater came nearer, and held out the penny. She held out her hand.

"There ya go." Pie Eater pressed the penny into her palm, and then kept his hand on hers.

"Thanks," Jules said, pulling her hand away. Pie Eater pulled it toward himself.

"Actually, you didn't really drop the penny," Pie Eater said, blushing slightly.

"But you just-" Jules asked.

"Nah, I made it up. I just wanted to talk to you," Pie Eater said.

"About what?"

"I dunno. You look really pretty today," Pie Eater said.

She blushed, as she usually did when she was paid a complement. She didn't think much of herself. She was rather plain. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, nothing really made her beautiful.

"Thanks."

"So whaddaya got planned for Saturday?" he asked.

"Gee, I hadn't really thought about it," Jules answered

"Because I thought maybe if you have no plans, you might want to go with me to Irving Hall and see one of Medda's shows," Pie Eater said.

"That'd be nice. Who else is going?" Jules asked, not understanding Pie Eater's intentions.

"I thought it might be nice if it was just us two. You know?" Pie Eater said with a shy smile.

In all the stories that her grandmother had told her, the heroine knew who "the one" was right when they met. When Jules saw him, she couldn't tell if he was "the one" or not. He was handsome, muscular, friendly- there was no reason for her not to like him, but she didn't feel particularly drawn to him.

"Oh. Um. I don't know what to say." Jules answered honestly.

"You could say yes," Pie Eater said.

Jules hesitated. She wanted to be someone's girl, but until today, Pie Eater had never shown any interest in her.

"Um. I didn't know that you had romantic feelings towards me," Jules began to say.

"I'm not crazy in love like Jack, or Blink, or Swifty, but I like you just fine. You're pretty, you're not too loud like some of the other girls around the lodging house, and I thought why not, maybe we could get to know each other better," Pie Eater said. He really knew how to woo a girl.

"You like me 'just fine'," Jules repeated, disappointed. "Gee, thanks!" she said rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean, and hey, I did say that you're pretty," Pie Eater said.

"What brought all this on?" Jules asked, unconvinced.

"I'm a good guy, and I just want to be with a good girl," Pie Eater said, as if it were obvious.

"Pie Eater, you are a good guy, but I want to be swept off my feet," Jules said.

"Look, never mind, forget I said anything." Pie Eater said, unaffectedly.

"We're still friends, right?" Jules asked.

"Yeah, of course." he said good humoredly. "But do me a favor, would ya?" he added

"What is it?"

"Don't mention this to anyone- especially your friend Chatterbox," Pie Eater said.

Chatterbox was a newsgirl who was known for being a talker, as her name indicated. She loved to be the center of attention, and she loved to be in the middle of everything. She and Jules often sold together.

Jules thought that Pie Eater had a point. If word got out about his asking her out, and her "rejection," all the newsies in Manhattan would know before the day was done.

"I won't," Jules promised. She wouldn't want to embarrass him in front of the others.

"Thanks. Oh, and um, could I get that penny back?" Pie Eater asked.

"What?" Jules asked.

"The penny I gave you. You didn't really drop it. I just made that up so I could talk to you," Pie Eater said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Jules said tossing him the penny back.

He caught it, blushed, then walked away from her, shouting out a headline.

Jules smiled, then shouted out her own. She wasn't swept off of her feet, but somehow she had a little ego boost, knowing that someone wanted her, even if he was the least romantic man in Manhattan.


	2. 2: Talk of the Town

**Guilty  
**By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter Two: Talk of the Town

"Wow, Jules, you are the talk of the town!" Blondie, the blonde haired, blue eyed newsgirl said as she ran up to Jules.

They had planned on selling together that day, but with Pie Eater's confession, Jules lost sight of her friend. Blondie had a flighty personality, and Jules figured that her friend found someone else to sell with.

Jules had just arrived to Tibby's when Blondie came up to her.

"What'd I miss?" Jules asked as the two girls walked to their regular table.

Chatterbox was already there, her brown curls bouncing, and her lively brown eyes lit up, as she was gabbing away.

"Oh, Jules! You're finally here! Well, everyone's been talking about you today!" Chatterbox said.

"Really?"

Jules usually wasn't someone that "everyone" talked about. Lately, there had been a lot of gossip surrounding Sadie, the red headed newsgirl. She and Swifty were an item, but Skittery was in love with Sadie too, and he had gotten into a big fight with Swifty. It had turned into a brawl, and Kloppman had kicked the boys out, but somehow the boys resolved it, and Kloppy let 'em stay.

"So what have they been saying?" Jules asked.

"Apparently, Sadie ran into one of her ex beaus, and she tried to pretend that she was someone else, so when he said to her, 'Aren't you Sadie?' She told him, 'No, my name is Jules.' And now Swifty is even more in love, and Skittery is just as gloomy as ever he was. Can you imagine the nerve of her saying she was you? I mean, does she even know you?" Chatterbox said.

Jules didn't think her friend had taken even one breath while speaking.

"I don't think we've said more than a few words to each other... like 'good morning' or 'lousy headline today,' but she seems nice enough-" Jules began to say.

"Anyway, it seems like she's not the only heart breaker around here. Poor Skittery! And poor you! I hope you're not too sad about what happened between you and Pie Eater. Are you okay?" Chatterbox asked.

Jules wondered how Chatterbox knew about her encounter with Pie Eater. She felt a pang of guilt. She'd promised Pie Eater that she wouldn't tell her friend about their encounter. She looked around the restaurant to see if Pie Eater was there. She couldn't see him anywhere.

"Nothing happened. I'm fine," Jules said. Blondie reached out and took Jules' hand and squeezed it.

"Oh, you poor darling. Did you cry a lot when he rejected you?" Blondie asked as she stroked Jules' hand. Blondie's blue eyes were brimming with tears; she was overly sensitive.

"What are you talking about? Rejection? Crying?" Jules asked confused.

"Good, keep yourself in denial. If you admit that you cried, it makes you look weak, especially after you get rejected by a man," Chatterbox said. "I once knew a girl who-"

"Wait, I didn't get rejected!" Jules interrupted the next story that Chatterbox was going to tell.

Chatterbox stopped what she was saying, and changed courses.

"What do you mean? Pie Eater came up to me while I was selling papes. He asked how I could be friends with someone as desperate as you. I asked him what he was talking about and then he told me that you'd pulled some cheap trick, pretending like you had found a penny that he dropped. He said you threw yourself on him, begging him to take you as his girl. Then, when he refused, you began to cry. Naturally, I defended you, but I was a little offended because you've never even mentioned that you liked him. Everyone knows that Blondie has a crush on Mush, but you've never admitted to liking anyone, and then I thought-"

"Shut up, Chatterbox!" Jules said, angrily.

Chatterbox looked dumbfounded. Jules didn't usually get upset over gossip, but if Chatterbox knew this version of the story, then by now, all of the newsies had already heard this. She wasn't even mad at Chatterbox, she was upset with Pie Eater. What had she ever done to him? He made her promise not to tell, and yet he went spilling his guts to the biggest mouth in Manhattan.

"That's not what happened. Pie Eater's 'improving the truth' a little too much, and if you ask me, you should get your facts straight before you go opening your trap!" Jules said angrily to her friend. She'd never spoken that way to anyone.

Jules felt like everyone in Tibby's was staring at her. Chatterbox was gaping at her with her mouth still open. For once, the loud mouth girl was speechless. Jules felt her cheeks get hot and flushed. She got up quickly, and walked out of Tibby's. She didn't even bother taking her papers with her.

Once she was out of the restaurant, she ran down the street as far as her legs would carry her. She was far from Newsies Square, and she ran into an abandoned alley.


	3. 3: The Trouble Finds Me

**Guilty  
**By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter Three: The Trouble Finds Me

Jules was so embarrassed. She felt betrayed. How could those girls gossip about her? She thought they were her friends! And yet they just believe the words of Pie Eater? They were lies! And why did Chatterbox have to be such a loud mouth? Would anyone even believe her after Pie Eater's version of what happened got around? Why would Pie Eater say something like that? How could he be so cruel?

"That stupid boy! That stupid, stupid, horrible, stupid newsboy! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" she said angrily as she kicked a trash can.

"I hate those newsies too, if it makes you feel any better," a man's voice said. It was full and deep.

Jules jumped up, startled. She thought she was alone. She looked around to find out where the voice is coming from.

"Who said that?" she asked.

"I did," said the voice. The garbage can that Jules had kicked began to rattle. A man rose from behind it. He looked a little rough around the edges. There were a few scratches on his face, and he had a lit cigarette in hand. He had blue eyes, brown hair, and a small mustache. A top his head, he wore a bowler hat. He was at least 19 years of age, if not older.

Jules thought he looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she might have seen him before. She would have certainly remembered him if she had seen him as close up as she was to him now. Her heart was pounding, but it wasn't out of fear. She looked into the eyes of the young man. His cool blue eyes seemed to have a calming effect on her. He looked back at her, just as intrigued. She didn't know what to say. Her mouth felt dry. It was as if her words were gone. He didn't speak either. He just looked right into her eyes.

"So, what did the newsies do to you?" he asked, finally breaking the silence. He took a drag from his cigarette, but he didn't take his eyes off of her.

"Nothing of consequence. Anyway, it'll probably blow over by the end of the week," Jules answered him vaguely as she watched him exhaling the smoke.

"Nothing of consequence, huh? Seems like you made a big deal over nothing of consequence. I think this trash can here would agree with me," the young man slightly smirking.

Jules broke eye contact with him finally, and looked down at the ground. If it had been any other guy, she might have laughed, but now she felt suddenly shy. Her face felt hot. Was she blushing?

"If I had known you were there... I wouldn't have-"she began to explain.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. I don't really get many visitors in the alley. It's nice to have something pretty to look at once in a while," he said.

Jules knew that she was blushing profusely now. He thought she was pretty. She looked at him. He was looking at her and still smirking.

"What were you doing behind the garbage cans anyway?" she asked.

"Smoking," he answered.

"Oh." Jules said. She wanted to know what he was really doing in the alley. Was he taking a break from work? What did he do for a living?

She was also curious to know what smoking was like. Plenty of the newsies smoked. The Cowboy smoked, Racetrack Higgins always had cigars, even little Snipeshooter was always stealing Race's cigars. But none of the newsgirls really did it. Her grandmother had told her that women who smoked cigarettes were loose. Jules was certain she'd once seen Medda Larkson taking a drag of a cigarette more than once.

"Smoke in your lungs... isn't that bad for your health?" Jules said, trying to make conversation.

The man shrugged, and took another drag. He was still looking at her. Studying her. Then, he broke his gaze, and went behind the trash can.

_That was stupid of me! Why did I tell him that smoking is bad for his health? He's going behind those trash cans. Maybe he's offended by what I said. _Jules' thoughts were going a mile a minute.

Then Jules heard some rattling and looked up. The man came out from behind the cans, and had pulled out two wooden crates. He gestured for her to sit on one of them, and then he sat on one of them casually, and continued smoking his cigarette.

Jules just stood there. She was nervous, being invited to sit so close to this stranger. Yet, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He wasn't handsome like most of the newsboys she sold along side. He was a sturdy, well built man. The newsies seemed more like boys in comparison.

As she looked at him, her stomach felt like it was doing back flips and her palms began sweating. She brushed her wet palms against her long blue skirt. She didn't want him to think of her as a child. She hoped he viewed her as a young lady, despite her outburst and kicking the garbage can.

He was watching what she was doing.

"Are you gonna just stand there?" he asked. His tone was calm and even.

"I should go," Jules said.

She was too nervous to sit next to him. Her grandmother would never have approved of her sitting next to a strange, attractive man she had just met.

He nodded, then looked away. Was he disappointed? His face was so calm, Jules couldn't tell.

Jules felt her feet moving, but rather than going away, they were headed towards the young man. She found herself sitting on the crate next to him, nervous and shy. He didn't look unpleased by it. His blue eyes seemed to study her and question her.

He took a puff of his cigarette, but he blew out the smoke away from her, in a gesture of consideration.

Jules felt her hand reaching for his. What was she doing? She didn't quite know, but her hand began to reach for the cigarette. Her fingertips brushed slightly against his hand. She had the cigarette between her fingers, and at her touch, he let go it. He looked at her, with an expression of surprise, curiousness, and caution. Jules wondered if he felt the same electricity going up his spine that she had felt when her hand brushed his.

He watched as Jules drew the rolled stick of tobacco to her mouth, putting her lips where his lips had been. Then he smiled as he watched her, intrigued that she wanted to try smoking.

"Be careful, it's bad for your health," he said, repeating her words.

Jules felt a small smile creep across her lips. They felt warm and tingly, knowing that his lips had been where she was putting hers. She inhaled the hot smoke, trying to seem more grown up, but then she choked on it. The taste of the hot tobacco made her throat burn, her eyes began to water and she started coughing. The cigarette slipped from her fingers and onto the ground.

"You okay?" the man asked, with a smile on his face.

She would have tried to answer him if she weren't choking on smoke.

The man began patting her back to help her stop choking.

She coughed a few more times, then got her breath back. The man kept his hand against the small of her back.

"Are you okay?" he asked again.

"That was awful. I had to try it out to make sure, but I think my grandma was right when she told me that smart people don't smoke," Jules said hoarsely.

The man didn't say anything in return, but he laughed out loud, then put out the still lit cigarette on the ground using his foot.

"You got a name, kiddo?" the man asked.

"Julie Caplan. Everyone calls me Jules," she answered, holding her hand out for him to shake. He took her hand, and his touch gave her butterflies in her stomach.

"I'm Morris Delancey. Everyone calls me Morris," he said smiling.

It took a moment for the name to register, but when it did, Jules gasped out loud and pulled her hand out of his. She knew that name from many of the stories she had heard. This man was one of the infamous Delancey brothers. Before the strike, the two brothers would give the newsies a hard time, but during the strike, they were savages. They had beaten Crutchy, who was already crippled without their beating.

He looked at her curiously, wondering what had elicited this response.

"I-I have to go," she stammered. She got up quickly, and turned to leave.

"I'll walk you to where you gotta go," Morris said, getting up to follow her.

"Don't," Jules said, not turning around. Soon, her feet were running her out of the alley, leaving behind Morris Delancey, and a little part of her heart as well.


	4. 4: Trouble? Pour Me a Double

_Author's Note: Brown Sugar is a character I created. _

**Guilty  
**By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter Four: Trouble? Pour Me a Double...

_Walk, Jules... just keep walking. _Jules was in Central Park, trying to blow off some steam. She was conflicted. Morris Delancey was a bad man. He was a gangster. He was dangerous. He was the enemy. And she liked him. She liked him more than any of the newsboys she'd gotten to know, and she'd known them for the past couple years, but she never felt like this from any man in her life.

She wanted to run back to the alley and demand to know why he'd tortured the newsies for so long. And why had he and his brother beaten up Crutchy? She wanted to ask the other newsies if the Delancey's really were rotten, or if there were times that they'd been decent guys. Now, the name Delancey was only mentioned in reference to the past. One story that David Jacobs liked to tell was how Morris Delancey didn't even know how to count. Surely, she could never fall for someone who couldn't even do simple mathematics, could she?

"Jules! Hey, Jules! Come on, slow down!" It was Chatterbox. One of the last people she ever wanted to see. Jules walked faster.

"Please, go away."

"Look, I didn't know that Pie Eater was lying. He told me that story, and I had no reason not to believe it, so I just repeated it, but we've been friends for how long? Like a whole year! I know you with your high morals and what with you doing everything that your grandma once said good girls do. Well, you would never lie about something like that, even at your expense, so I told everyone that Pie Eater was lying, and when it got back to him, well, he was really embarrassed, but he 'fessed up about what really happened and now every thing's okay. Honest to God, it is. Anyway, you left your papers, but I got 'em for you. Aren't you gonna thank me?" Chatterbox was holding out Jules' papers, and trying to keep pace.

Jules sighed. She couldn't stay mad at her big mouth friend for very long, even if she did have a big mouth. "Thank you for bringing me my papers."

"Honestly, everything is okay. It's like the whole thing never happened," Chatterbox said.

"Fine," Jules said retrieving her papers from her so-called friend.

"In fact, Pie Eater felt so bad about the way he acted like a rat that he wants you to meet him in Greeley Square so he can apologize to you in person. I think it's proper nice of him to do that. Most of these newsies wouldn't admit they were wrong, but of course, the choice is yours," Chatterbox said.

Jules could care less about the situation with Pie Eater. She wanted to know about the Delancey brothers. She hadn't been a newsgirl until after the strike was over, so all that she had heard about them were word of mouth. He seemed so gentle to her- those cool blue eyes that made her feel calm, the feel of his strong hand on the small of her back. Her grandmother had warned her about falling for the wrong guy, and yet here she was, sighing over Morris. If she was a heroine, she'd just fallen for the villain.

_No, get Morris Delancey out of your head!_ she thought.

Then, a different thought came into her head. Maybe she should have taken Pie Eater's offer. Maybe she felt nothing now, but perhaps in time, she might feel something for him.

"Fine. I'll go to Greeley Square," Jules said, heading in that direction.

Chatterbox followed her. The two began calling out headlines. Jules knew she had to sell her papers, and stop herself from thinking about Morris Delancey.

* * *

Morris watched Jules from a distance. He'd followed her even though she told him not to. What did he say to make her run off that way? And it wasn't too long before he knew why she ran off.

He saw the two girls together- one with a large stack of newspapers. Then he saw Jules take the papers under her arm, then he saw the two girls go off, shouting headlines.

"She's a newsie?" he whispered out loud to himself.

He couldn't believe it. He put all the details together- how she kicked the trash can over, and yelled about some stupid newsie. He never guessed that she was a newsie herself, and now it all made sense.

He still hated the newsies. Jack Kelley thought he was so much better than everyone, and all his newsies adopted the same arrogance. He remembered the strike, and couldn't help feeling bitter. It wasn't personal, it was business.

The name Delancey meant something. He and his brother Oscar were descendants of James Delancey- the former governor of New York, who Delancey street was named after. Sure, they were very distant descendants, but their name should have put them farther ahead than those stinkin' newsies. Yet, there they were, only slightly higher in rank than the newsies, and Jack Kelley and his lot were constantly making fools out of the Delancey's with their lack of respect. The newsies deserved to be put into their places. They deserved to be crushed. Instead, the Delancey's and Uncle Wease were the ones who ended up humiliated.

After the strike, he and his brother began to do odd jobs for thugs and gangsters. Oscar climbed the ladder of drug and weapons trading fairly quickly. Morris, who had the tendency of being a follower rather than a leader, despite the fact that he was older, was his brother's right hand man, so whenever Oscar got a promotion, Morris was right there with him.

Oscar Delancey was now one of the most dangerous drug kingpins in Manhattan. With the snap of his fingers, he could have one of those newsies killed, easy. But he had bigger fish to fry than those damn newsies. At any rate, the tides had turned and their days of humiliation were over with. Now that the stakes had been raised and a few years had passed since the strike, the newsies were rarely mentioned, but they could never be forgotten as enemies of the Delancey's.

Morris trailed the two newsgirls. Only on the busy streets of New York City could he follow them so easily without being noticed. When the two girls stopped at Greeley Square, which was notorious for being newsie-infested, and he took cover inside a pub, hoping he wouldn't be recognized as he watched Jules.

"Hello, there, I'm Brown Sugar. I'm your server, what can I get you?" a dark-skinned bar maid approached, as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Whiskey, straight up. Make it a double," Morris said, without even looking at her. His eyes were glued to what was going on outside.

"Sounds like you've had a rough day," she said.

"Sugar, you have no idea," Morris said.


	5. 5: The Next Best Thing to Love

_Author's Note: Nadine, Darlene, and Chicky are created characters. _

**Guilty  
**By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter Five: The Next Best Thing to Love

Jules and Chatterbox arrived at Greeley Square, and Jules began to scan the crowd for Pie Eater.

"Extry, Extry! Pictures of the mayor's daughter, in nothing but her under garments!" Jules cried out, still searching for the newsboy.

Several men bought the paper. What they didn't know was that there was a birth announcement of the mayor's newborn daughter, alongside the announcement was a picture of the baby in only a diaper.

"Oh, there he is!" Chatterbox said, pointing him out. He was just beyond the Horace Greeley monument on the west side of the street.

"Look, you stay here. I love ya, but you got a big mouth and frankly, I wanna keep this between me and Pie Eater, without an audience," Jules said to Chatterbox.

Her friend looked annoyed, but then nodded her head, as Jules made her way over to Pie Eater.

Pie Eater was calling out a headline, but stopped as he saw Jules.

"Hey," he said, a little embarrassed.

"Hey," Jules said, avoiding eye contact.

"Um, so Chatterbox told you what happened?" he asked.

Jules nodded.

"You know, I came clean to the others. I told 'em the whole truth about how you didn't want to be my girl, and everything," Pie Eater said a bit glumly.

"That was really rotten of you," Jules said.

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be... rotten. It's tough sometimes hearing about Jack, or Blink, or Swifty, and the other guys who are always meetin' girls and going out on dates. I just wanted a girl of my own, you know?" Pie Eater said.

"So why not ask Blondie or Chatterbox?" Jules asked.

"Ah, you know Blondie likes Mush! And that Chatterbox, she talks too much. You're the only decent girl I know," Pie Eater said.

"So you decided I should be your girl," Jules concluded.

Pie Eater nodded.

"When you said no, I was fine with it, but then I started getting... I dunno, pissed. I know I ain't ugly. I'm a nice guy too, so why ain't I good enough to have a girl, you know? And I guess I took it out on you. I'm really sorry about what happened. Everyone knows what happened now, and you come out looking like a saint, and I'm a jerk."

"Yeah, you are," Jules said, nodding her head, "but I forgive you anyway."

"Thanks, I guess I deserve that," Pie Eater said, still sounding and looking glum.

Though Jules was looking at Pie Eater, it was Morris' face that she was imagining. His eyes, his mustache, his lips...

_If only I could have kissed those lips... _Jules thought, forgetting her conversation with Pie Eater. Her heart was with someone else.

_Stop. He is a Delancey. You are a newsie. It will never work out. Forget him. Settle. Settle with Pie Eater. It's for your own good._ Her mind was telling her to deny her heart's desire.

Logic or emotion? Which to choose? If she chose the Delancey's, she'd be enemies with her best friends. She could forget Morris. There were plenty of fishes in the sea- that's what her grandmother always told her. Yes, she would forget about Morris. Maybe she could fall in love with Pie Eater. Maybe.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Pie Eater asked, looking at Jules concerned.

"Huh? What? I'm sorry, I was just thinking about... something," she said.

"I said that if you ever change your mind and want to me be my girl-"

"Yes," Jules said.

"Yes?" Pie Eater asked.

"Yes, I'll be your girl," Jules said.

"You will?" Pie Eater asked, hope rising in his voice.

"Sure, but you have to know that I don't feel anything for you. I'd rather just be friends, but... I'll be your girl if that's what you want... just until you find someone that you really like," Jules said honestly.

"Um... I guess that's okay," Pie Eater said, sounding disappointed again.

"Good, then we have a deal," Jules said. She spit into her hand and held it out to shake.

Pie Eater was a bit surprised at first, but he spit into his hand and shook hers.

"Um, can I give you a kiss or something?" Pie Eater asked.

"Right now?" Jules asked, sounding alarmed. She'd never been kissed before.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Out in the open in front of everyone?"

"If you don't want to, we don't have to."

"Um." Jules turned her cheek toward Pie Eater's face and pointed to it.

Pie Eater kissed it a little awkwardly.

Jules never had any siblings, but if she had a brother, she imagined that that's what it would feel like if he kissed her.

"Well, I gotta sell the rest of my papes. I'll see you later," Jules said hurriedly and a little flustered. She headed toward Central Park. Walking would help her clear her head.

* * *

Morris had seen enough. The girl was a newsie, and apparently, she had a newsie boyfriend too. He threw back a second glass whiskey, and it burned going down his throat. He slapped down the glass, left a half dollar at the table, and he didn't bother to get his change as he stormed out. He walked quickly away from Newsies Square, all the way to the Lower East Side. He didn't even bother trying to higher a carriage, a luxury he could now afford being the right hand man of a notorious gangster.

"Morris, where ya been?" Oscar said, as Morris entered the smoke-filled tenement apartment where they lived.

Oscar, a handful of seedy thugs, and three scantily-clad, heavily made-up women were lounging about.

"Out," Morris said.

Oscar raised eyebrows but didn't question. Morris wasn't the talkative type.

"Hey, Dolores, pour him a drink, will ya?" he said pointing to one of the two brunettes.

"Mr. Delancey, I'm Nadine," she said giggling, "she's Darlene," she said pointing to the other brunette, "and that's Chicky," she said, pointing to the blonde, and giggling the whole while. All three of the ladies were drunk.

"Whatever, just get him a drink," Oscar said.

"What'll you be having, Mr. Delancey?" Nadine asked seductively, sauntering up to Morris. She reeked of sweat and alcohol.

"I'm good, thanks," Morris said to Nadine's surprise.

"I think your brother's a queer," Nadine said to Oscar, giggling.

No sooner than she had said that, Oscar backhanded her and she was on the ground, blood pouring from her nose. The other two women screamed and rushed over to help her up and nurse her wounds.

"Cool it," Morris said, putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

There was a time when Morris didn't mind putting his hand to a woman who disrespected him, but now-a-days, he saved his anger for the different gangsters and thugs who sought to overthrow the power of the Delancey's. Oscar was a bit of a sadist, and would kick a puppy if given the opportunity.

"You shouldn't let these whores talk about you like that," Oscar said protectively.

"Why do you even let 'em hang around if you don't even like 'em?" Morris said.

Though they smelled of booze and sex, these women were more voluptuous and womanly than the newsgirl he had met earlier in the day. Still, he desired her more than these women- her innocence and curiosity was more appealing than their wiles.

"A man has urges, don't he?" Oscar shrugged.

Until today, Morris would have agreed, and welcomed the company of any of these women. But now, it was the newsgirl who flooded his thoughts. It troubled him that he was thinking of her so much. He'd only met her that afternoon and he needed to get over her. He looked towards the women and studied them carefully. The blonde looked the least like Jules.

"Hey, sweetheart, you wanna step away from those brunettes for a bit?" Morris asked Chicky.

"Sure, Mr. Delancey, I'd be honored," she said coyly.

She left Nadine in the care of of Darlene, and put her arm around Morris as she led the way to one of the bedrooms.

"Now, that's the spirit!" Oscar said, making lewd gestures.

One way or another, Morris knew it would be best to forget about the girl.


	6. 6: Try Central Park, It's Guaranteed

**Guilty  
**By: Stubby the Newsgirl  
Chapter Six: Try Central Park, It's Guaranteed

"Come on, get up! Time to sell the papes!" Kloppman yelled, banging on the wooden posts of the bunk which Jules and Blondie shared.

Jules groaned. Her muscles ached. She had spent most of the day walking, trying to clear her thoughts, but all that she could think about was Morris Delancey. When she had come back, everyone was congratulating Pie Eater on his conquest of "winning her heart."

She masked her initial indifference by saying that he'd won her over after she heard so much about how heroic Pie Eater had been during the strike. Really, she'd heard no such thing, but she needed to know more about the Delancey Brothers. Through all the stories of the newsies, she learned about the Delanceys' cruelty- the way they bullied the smaller newsies, their assault on Crutchy and the Jacobs' family. She learned that Morris had been the one who had dealt the punch which sent Jack back to the refuge, and how the brothers had some seedy plans when it came to Sarah Jacobs.

She could barely sleep after learning the truth. Most of the night, she imagined herself as Sarah. And she felt guilty that she was aroused by thoughts of Morris planning to do bad things to her. How did he have this effect on her? And how was she to rid herself from these thoughts?

"How does it feel to be a woman in love?" Blondie asked pulling on her skirt, and brushing her long blond hair, and giving her a winning smile.

"Terrible," Jules answered, punching her pillow and sitting up.

Jules always marveled at how Blondie always seemed to wake up like she was a fairy tale princess. Jules always woke up grouchy, with her hair disheveled and crust in her eyes.

As the newsies all woke up, the buzz was about Pie Eater and Jules, how much more money Jack had to save up to his long-awaited a trip to Santa Fe, Mush's new girl of the week, Blondie's jealousy over Mush's new girl, Skittery's heart-break, Race's recent win on the track, and Chatterbox's crush on the new piano boy at Medda's.

"Good morning," Pie Eater said, popping in, over to the "girls' side" of the lodging house. Technically, the girls inhabited only a tiny area that was curtained off from the boys. Pie Eater had stuck his head through the curtain.

The girls were all dressed and ready. Kloppman made a point to wake up the girls first, so they wouldn't have to be indecent around the boys.

"Morning," the girls chimed in unison.

Pie Eater stayed there, a bodiless head, floating in between the curtains.

"Is there anything else you want?" Jules asked.

"Um, no. We're selling together now, right?" Pie Eater asked.

Jules had wanted to sell with Crutchy so she could interrogate him some more about the Delancey brothers, but perhaps this was safer for her.

"I like to sell in Central Park. Is that okay?" Jules asked.

"Sure," Pie Eater said with a smile.

Usually, Jules liked to go to Central Park to avoid her problems, not for part of her problems to come following her.

* * *

"I didn't do it! I didn't know it was you!" Morris yelled, sitting up straight, drenched in a cold sweat. He'd just woken up from an awful dream.

Oscar and some of the drunken thugs from the previous night began laughing.

"Mornin, sunshine," Oscar said.

Morris was on the couch. Why had he slept on the couch?

He remembered the previous day. He had taken the blonde girl named Chicky to the bedroom. He stripped off her corset and took off his own shirt, and as she pressed her naked upper body against his, he undid his belt buckle. She kissed him, and the sourness of her breath caused him to choke. The way her face was painted with so much make-up, he thought she looked like a clown. The pungency of her breath and body in no way fed his sexual appetite. He became impotent before he could even get his pants off.

"What's wrong?" Chicky asked.

"You're disgusting," Morris said simply.

"Hey!" she said offendedly. "You know what? Nadine was right about you!" she spat angrily.

He ignored her, got up, redid his belt, put on his shirt, and walked out of the room. He didn't care that the woman was spewing out insult after insult after him.

"That was real quick, even compared me," Oscar laughed, while the croonies howled.

Morris grabbed the first bottle within sight and downed it. It was gin. Gin was a quick and easy way to cure a problem.

Chicky stomped out of the bedroom, pissed, only half dressed, still screaming insults at him. Oscar must've hit her, because he remembered hearing a collective scream of women- Natalie and Dolores, or whatever their names were, began to hurl insults as well, but it was all screeching and Morris was too drunk to remember what was said or done. Not too long after, he passed out on the couch.

He had a dream about the newsies. He dreamed that he and Oscar were beating the crap out of the gimp, Crutchy, the same way they did during the newsies strike. Then suddenly, it wasn't Crutchy who was lying there beaten. It was Jules. She was battered and bruised, and it was his hands that did it. She looked up at him, half dead, and all she did was smile.

Now that he was awake, he gathered his bearings. In spite of his hang over, he wanted desperately to get out of the shabby apartment.

"Hey, do you need any deliveries made today?" Morris asked, getting up slowly.

"Actually, yeah. We just cut up part of that brick today, and O'Malley's gonna dole out the big bucks for a piece. I was gonna send Harvey out to Central Park to deliver once he sobered up, ain't that right, Harv?" Oscar said loudly, referring to a brick of cocaine, as he slapped Harvey on the back.

Harvey was a rugged looking thug, not yet thirty, with only four teeth in his mouth. The other teethhad been lost from various fights he'd been in. Harv looked up and smiled drunkenly. Morris guessed it would take the man two more days to sober up.

"I'll do it instead and save you some time," Morris said, getting a glass of water and chugging it thirstily, trying to counter act the pounding in his head.

"Ah, great! Morris to the rescue! You sure you're feelin' okay?" Oscar asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine," Morris said, refilling the glass and chugging a second glass.

"Hey, you sure?" Oscar asked again. "Because last night... I mean, you didn't even do nothing when those whores were-"

"I'm over it," Morris said.

"Well... we took real good care of 'em after they decided to mouth off, ain't that right, Harv?" Oscar said with a wicked grin.

"I think I lost another tooth from all of the good caring I did," Harvey laughed.

Morris shook his head. He could guess what they did to those women, and before now, he would've laughed along with them. Now, he just felt an enormous weight of guilt for his past and present. He thought about his future. Maybe he could turn himself in and do good from now on. He thought about Jules and how innocent and naive she was. That brought a smile to his face.

"Hey, get your mind out the gutter, brother," Oscar laughed.

Morris was brought back to reality. He decided that this was the last thing he would do for his brother or any other drug lord.

"Anything I need to know before I take off?" Morris asked.

"Well, O'Malley's sending out some goon named Tony in Central Park, near 73rd street. The word is 'jabber'; his word is 'wocky.' Got it? Jabber. Wocky. Make sure you get fifty from him, and tell him there's more for another hundred," Oscar said, handing his brother a well wrapped piece of the brick of cocaine to his brother.

Morris put on his jacket and put the piece of the brick in his pocket and headed out. He was determined. This was his last act of crime.

* * *

Jules and Pie Eater had an uneventful morning. They'd sold a decent amount of papers together. Jules tried to get more information about the strike, but Pie Eater didn't really mention the Delancey Brothers, and she didn't feel like she could ask all that she wanted to know without him getting too suspicious. They walked around without any hint of romance.

Pie Eater asked her questions, and she answered them. She told him about her folks dying, her grandmother dying, her runaway. He shared with her about how he'd grown up in the orphange in Queens and escaped when he was 11. Shortly after, he'd seen the newsies in the square and decided to become one as well. He shared how he got his name- he loved sweets, especially pies. They shared good conversation, but no matter how interesting it was, Jules' mind was occupied with thoughts of Morris Delancey.

"Hey, it must be around noon. You hungry?" Pie Eater asked, looking up at the sky.

The sun was high in the sky, and the way the shadows of the trees fell, Jules knew Pie Eater must be right. On a normal day, Jules would have been hungry, but today, she wasn't. She needed to be alone.

"I don't have enough money for lunch," Jules lied, and hoped that Pie Eater wouldn't offer to pay.

"Aw, I'd offer to pay for yours, but I only got enough for one. I guess I could split my lunch with you," Pie Eater said reluctantly.

"No, don't do that. I'll be fine. I'm not really that hungry anyway. Why don't you go ahead, we can meet back up here in an hour or so," Jules said, silently thanking the gods.

"You sure you don't mind?" Pie Eater asked.

"Get lost," Jules said jokingly, but meaning it.

"You're a nice girl," Pie Eater said sarcastically, then took off.

Jules felt a wave of relief wash over her once he was out of sight, and a second wind for selling came upon her.

"Extry! Extry!" she cried, as she made her way through the park.

"I'll take one of those papers!" a burly man with an Irish accent said, approaching her.

"Thank you, sir," she said taking the penny and giving him a paper.

"Me sister Sadie's a newsgirl, so I know it ain't an easy livin'," the man said.

"I know your sister. She's a nice girl," Jules said, seeing no resemblance that the wirey-framed newsgirl had to this monster of a man.

"You wouldn't say that if ye lived with 'er," the man said. "Anyway, take care and stay outta trouble."

"Will do," Jules said cautiously. She wondered if he had any idea just what kind of trouble she was in.

* * *

Morris had been waiting most of the morning in Central Park which helped, and after getting a couple of hot dogs from the street vendors, his hang over was merely a memory. He was thinking about heading back to the east side when he saw a big gruff red-haired man loiter around that area. The man seemed to be reading a newspaper, but he wasn't quite invested in his reading. He would take long pauses to look around, like he was waiting for someone. Morris thought how ridiculous it was for this guy to be named "Tony." No Italians had red hair like that; this was no doubt an Irishman. The name was an alias to hide his real identity. Morris guessed that his real name was probably something like Seamus or Liam.

"Tony?" Morris asked, approaching the man.

"Harvey?" the man asked.

"Jabber."

"Wocky."

"You got the fifty?" Morris asked.

Tony held up a wad of cash.

"Count it out loud," Morris commanded.

Tony did as he was bid. He seemed nervous, and Morris guessed that it was this guy's first job.

"First time?" Morris asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"My family needs the money. I'm not planning on doing this for very long," the man said, sounding guilt ridden.

"I'm with you there. As a matter of fact, this'll be my last evil deed," Morris said as if revealing a great secret.

Tony seemed uncomfortable with the word 'evil,' and cleared his throat, nervously.

"Well, it's all there," Tony said, handing over the wad of bills.

"This coke is pure form; come all the way from South America. It's going pretty fast, so tell O'Malley if he wants another slice, it'll be a hundred. Of course, I won't be the one dealin' so I wouldn't try anything shifty... cause that Oscar Delancy can do some damage," Morris said as he took the wrapped cocaine from his pocket.

"I hear that Morris is the real brother to be afraid of... he's usually the one who does the dirty work for his brother," Tony said.

Morris took a sharp intake of breath. This was not something he wanted to hear.

"Look, just a word of advice... don't stay in this for too long," Morris said. He wasn't quite sure what brought on this newer, softer side. Since when did he start looking out for the good of others? Maybe being one of the good guys wasn't so hard after all.

Tony nodded, processing the message, as he took the small package and put it into his pocket.

"Extry! Extry!" a girl's voice called out.

It was Jules. The Irish man nodded to the girl. She nodded back, then did a double take. Her eyes were on Morris.

"You two know each other?" Morris asked.

Jules broke her gaze, then ran off in the opposite direction.

"I just bought a paper from her this afternoon, that's all," Tony said with a shrug, as he watched the girl run off.

"Shit, I need to talk to her," Morris said, running after her.

"I'll give O'Malley your message," Tony called after him.

"Yeah, whatever," Morris said, stuffing the money in his pocket and taking off in the same direction that Jules.


End file.
